The present invention relates in general to the field of ultrasound, and in particular to an ultrasound volume probe navigation and control method and device as well as ultrasound apparatus.
Ultrasound apparatus plays a vitally important auxiliary role in the field of medical diagnosis. A clear scan of the blood vessel and blood flow can be performed through ultrasound. Conventional scan modes are all based on two-dimensional ultrasound mode, i.e. scanning only one side, thus being unable to present a three-dimensional image of the subject being scanned. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,423,006, 6,048,317, and 6,390,984 are all based on two-dimensional ultrasound mode.
The three-dimensional scan mode has an advantage over the two-dimensional scan mode. In a two-dimensional scan mode, the user has to move the probe time after time to acquire a proper sectional view of the blood vessel, but the three-dimensional scan mode can present the whole subject being scanned, e.g., the overall image of the blood vessel, thus making it more convenient for the doctor to diagnose the subject being scanned and carry out subsequent treatment. However, the three-dimensional scan mode also requires the user to put the volume probe in the correct area, and if the user cannot keep the volume probe always in a proper area, the vessel tracking may fail, and no overall vessel image can be obtained. This is because the blood vessel has gone beyond the scan range of the volume probe.
How to navigate and control the scanned subject, such as blood vessel, in a three-dimensional scan mode is one of the key points of industry research at present.